Dear Volunteers, 

When I think back to when we first closed our doors in March because of the rapid, global spread of COVID-19, it feels like a lifetime ago. I thought that the 6-month AGO Plan for employees might be sufficient to get us through this period. I hoped that COVID-19 would be managed effectively around the world. Clearly, its impact, including reduced attendance at the AGO and our ability to generate revenue has had a profound effect on our business. Yesterday –  much to my deep regret – we had to reduce our workforce. 

Limits on the number of people who can gather in one place, physical distancing rules, a slow return to physical spaces and restrictions on travel have had – and will continue to have – a significant impact on our operations. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to terminate or layoff more than 100 employees, both management and unionized. This change is solely related to the pandemic and our challenges in generating revenue because of it. We wish to thank these colleagues for their work at the AGO, and we will support them as well as we can through this time. 

Volunteers are part of our AGO family and we know you share in the sadness of this challenging time. Volunteers have been an important part of our past, and you remain vital to our future. We know your time on hiatus has been difficult. We want to reassure you that we are planning to bring volunteers back to the gallery, but it will take time.  The health and safety of our staff, volunteers and visitors are our top priority so we will continue to follow public health and government directives.

We are facing a period of prolonged uncertainty. Restrictions will be in place for many months to come, until we are able to return to normal operations once a vaccine is found.  

The pandemic WILL end. The AGO will thrive again in the future but these are difficult times. I truly wish it were different.

Thank you for your care and compassion during these changes with our employees.

Stephan and Maya

Stephan Jost

Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO

Maya Kotlarenko 

Volunteer President